Archive for November, 2010
Carol disc on Violinist.com
This week, our Christmas disc ‘I Saw Three Ships and other carols’ is featured in a competition on the website Violinist.com. The site is dedicated to violins and violinists, with blogs,discussions and articles about the world of violin playing. They are giving away three copies throughout the week, with various questions about some of the [...]
Wedding at Cooling Castle, Kent
Although Cooling Castle is not on our doorstep, it was a real pleasure to be asked to play for a wedding there on Saturday. Ali (cellist) and myself provided a string duo for there ceremony and drinks reception and as the groom is a rugby player, we were asked to play ‘Jerusalem’ and ‘Swing Low [...]
Coventry Carol
The mournful melody of the 13th carol on our disc is the ‘Coventry Carol’ - named after the manuscript from the Pageant of the Shearmen and Tailors of Coventry where it was first recorded in 1591. The tragic words are a song being sung to a little child on the day Herod chose to slaughter [...]
Friends of Torbay Music Weekend
On Sunday 21st November, we were invited to give a recital for the final evening of the 41st Friends of Torbay Music Weekend. The Friends of Torbay are a group of like minded music lovers who gather together every year at the Palace Hotel in Torquay to enjoy a series of lectures, discussions, recitals and [...]
Anti X-factor? Why not just be pro-music?
Over the last couple of years there has certainly been a discernible backlash against the predictability of the X factor winner having a guaranteed UK Christmas number one and after last years successful Facebook campaign to get ‘Rage Against the Machine’ into the Christmas charts, it seems that many people are even more determined to [...]
Haydn, Bevan, Puccini and Spohr
On Monday, we spent 5 hours rehearsing for our forthcoming concert at the Friends of Torbay Music Weekend. As we are playing at the close of the weekend, on the Sunday evening, we wanted the programme to be somewhat celebratory and have chosen two lively quartets - Haydn String Quartet in D major Op. 20 [...]
Personent Hodie
The 12th track on our disc is a little bit of a departure from the rest. Personent Hodie is one of the oldest carols on the album, the earliest source of it appears in a manuscript found in Bavaria dating from 1361. The title translates as ‘On This Day’ and other composers have harmonised it, [...]
Wedding at Hitchin Priory
Yesterday, we returned once more to Hitchin Priory in Hertfordshire. Last time we were there (only a month ago), we were playing outside on a sunny October afternoon. This time, the temperature didn’t permit outdoor playing so we performed inside in a beautiful Georgian room before providing music for the ceremony itself. There was then [...]
String Duo for a Wedding at Dodmoor House, Northamptonshire
Today Reiad and I played for a couple who were having a blessing ceremony at Dodmoor House in Northamptonshire. We play at this venue very regularly both as a string duo and as a string quartet and it’s always a real pleasure because the staff are so welcoming with the ambiance of the venue being [...]
Here We Come A-Wassailing…..
In old English, the word ‘Wassail’ is a wish for good health. The practice of going ‘Wassailing’ at Christmas refers to the practice of singing from door to door, hopefully being rewarded by a glass of spiced punch. This Christmas carol seems to have originated in the North of England and first appears in published [...]
